


Miss You More

by aworldoffandoms



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Choices, Established Relationship, F/M, Fanfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Relationship(s), Romantic Fluff, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29839482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aworldoffandoms/pseuds/aworldoffandoms
Summary: The heart grows fonder while your loved ones are away. Long-distance is tough for a couple in love. How will Nicolette and Ethan go?
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart), Sienna Trinh & Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 6





	Miss You More

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! I don't know how I feel about this one but I hope it's fluffy for you 😊

Nicolette yawns as she takes off her white lab coat and hangs it up in her personalised locker in the resident’s lounge, her eyes heavy with fatigue and her bones just as tired after the forty-hour shift. Her hair is a tied up mess on the top of her head, her make-up all but smudged (which she didn’t care about at this point) and all she wants to do is go home and sleep for ten years. 

She thanks the big man upstairs for allowing Naveen to give her a day off tomorrow. Who would have thought being a third-year resident would make her just as exhausted and mentally tired as in her first year? It didn’t help that with the added stress of the medical boards coming up in six short weeks, the added pressure wasn’t entirely the best thing when you had to work non-stop and rarely got a solid eight hour sleep at night. 

“I am so ready to fall into bed and never wake up again.” Nicolette’s words drip with her fatigue and it doesn’t take long for her roommates to agree and slip out the door quietly, leaving only her and Sienna in the lounge, eager to get home at the of their beds and sleep.

“See ya at home, Nicolette, Sienna…” Jackie gives a parting wave while Elijah gives them a fleeting smile, Jackie following behind sluggishly, her jacket thrown over her shoulder.

Sienna mumbles against her locker, her forehead pressed to the cold metal to soothe her aching head. “You and me both, babe. My eyes feel like they are going to fall out of my head, I’m so tired.” 

A laugh escapes Nicolette’s throat, but it’s dry and brittle and she grimaces at the sound. “I’m right there with you, Sienna. Let’s go home, yeah?” 

Sienna gives her a tired smile while she loops her arm through Nicolette’s and they slowly make their way out of Edenbrook, their steps dragging in their exhaustion. Nicolette’s eyes almost sting from the heaviness of sleep-deprivation but she manages to shake away the urge as she slips her phone out of her pocket and unlocks it, her heart sinking to find no new messages or notifications from the last few hours.

It’s quiet for a while, just the sounds of their footsteps permeating the cold sting to the weather as Boston slips into the first stages of winter. Nicolette feels eyes on her and she looks up to see Sienna glancing at her from the corner of her eye. 

Nicolette wants to roll her eyes but she doesn’t have the energy to do it so she just sighs. “What is it, Sienna?” 

Sienna’s expression stalls and then she lets out an embarrassed little laugh but then squeezes Nicolette’s arm affectionately. 

“I know what you’re looking for and I’m saying to you that you should ring him instead of you waiting for him to reply. You know how hopeless he is with technology, little own texting.” 

Nicolette waits a few moments, drinking in Sienna’s words until she nods and puts her phone back in her bag, her breath crystallizing in the air as she exhales. “I suppose you’re right, Sienna. I’ll call him before I go to bed.” 

Sienna raises an eyebrow at her obvious fatigue as her steps grow more lethargic. She pulls Nicolette closer so they can share warmth to defend against the crisp Boston weather. “That is if you can stay awake for that.” 

Nicolette scoffs. “Of course I will, Sienna! I’m a senior resident at Edenbrook Hospital. I solve the most puzzling cases on a daily basis and you think I can’t even wait up to call my own boyfriend? Geesh.” 

Sienna giggles loudly as they step onto the T in the direction of their apartment. 

***

_RING! RING! RING!_

Nicolette bolts upright in her bed, her hair a mess, her blankets twisted around her ankles and she’s more than certain that she has dried drool on the side of her mouth but she doesn’t think about that for long, all she wants is that damn ringing to shut up so she can go back to sleep. 

Nicolette blinks her eyes open and turns to the sound, hand raising to shut the noise off but when her eyes focus, albeit slowly, her heart skips a beat at the face on the screen and she smiles at the sight, lunging for the phone as she clears her throat a few times to dislodge the thickness of sleep coating it. 

“Ethan!” 

There is a low chuckle that sounds in her ear and Nicolette shivers, and definitely not from the cold. Ethan’s laugh was low and deep, as intimate as a feather whispering over her skin. She knew this laugh. This laugh was just for her. 

“Hello, Nicolette. Is it possible that I woke you up?” 

“Of course you didn’t! I was just...doing some late night cleaning...” Nicolette cringes at the lie but she pretends to ignore it and waits for Ethan’s answer. Ethan laughs outright then and her heart flies at the sound and all she wants to do is hug him, snuggle into his embrace and bask in his scent of just him but she knows she can’t. He’s too far away. 

“I have a fair idea of what you are doing right now, Nicolette.” 

Nicolette raises an eyebrow at the challenge she can hear in his voice and she gets comfortable, slipping down further into the warmth of her sheets and she pulls her mess of hair from her face. 

“Oh, and what, per se, am I doing, Ethan Ramsey?” 

Ethan doesn’t miss a beat before he answers her, his tone amused but smug and Nicolette can already see the smirk that is definitely lifting up at the edges of his mouth as he speaks. 

“I am confident that you are lying in your bed, hair a mess, puffy eyes from working two days straight,” There’s a pause as he thinks and then continues, his complacency heavy in every word now. “...and there might be some aspirin on the bedside table and, maybe, just _maybe_ , there might be some drool on the side of your mouth from waking up from a dead sleep.” 

Nicolette is silent in shock as she holds the phone to her ear, she wipes the side of her mouth as she grimaces at the fact that he’s right about it all, running her hands through her hair a couple of times to settle the unruliness before she huffs, snuggling into her pillow. 

“I’m not going to say whether you are right or wrong. That’ll just be me admitting defeat and I’m not going to do that.” 

There is a quiet sigh and Ethan’s tone is gentle as he speaks, the sound of it rushing through Nicolette like a warm breeze on a summer’s day. 

“I’m calling to see how you are, sweetheart. I’m well aware that you are working non-stop and are studying for your boards at the same time. Are you getting enough rest? Eating well?” 

Nicolette’s heart swells with love for the man on the other side of the phone and she melts at the concern bleeding through his tone. He’s more selfless than she gives him credit for.

“I’m fine, Ethan. I worked non-stop for two days but Naveen gave me the day off tomorrow. Thank god. And studying...is studying, I guess. Nobody likes to do it but it has to be done to get anywhere in this chosen career of mine.”

Ethan hums, sounding unconvinced but he lets it slide. 

“Are you sure you are alright though? I don’t want you burning yourself out.” 

Nicolette rolls her eyes but her heart melts at his words. Despite being thousands of miles apart, he still thinks of her and worries. She lucked out with him for sure. 

“Ethan. I’m fine. Stop worrying, please. Although…” An idea hits Nicolette like lightening and she takes the opportunity to do it while she has Ethan on the phone. He rarely can resist her wiles when she uses it. 

“Although…?” Ethan prompts, his voice open with curiosity. 

Nicolette grins against the phone and she puts on a wistful sigh, making sure to make it sound as breathy and downtrodden as possible. Nicolette lets out another sigh for good measure and begins, although, looking at the time, it’s not surprising that she feels the pull of sleep again, her sleep deprivation catching up to her. 

**“I’m tired and my bed feels so empty without you here.”**

Ethan laughs and she can hear the grin in his voice as he answers her. “I know. I wish that I was there with you. It is completely preposterous that I’m here in California and you are there in Boston, alone, probably in those cute fluffy bunny pyjamas that I love so much and I can’t touch you and hold you and make sure that you are alright.” 

Nicolette wants to squeal with giddiness at his words. This was the desired effect and she enjoys his words with delight.

“Well...what’s stopping you then?” 

There is a resigned sigh and she can practically feel Ethan carding his hand through his hair in abject disappointment.

“Unfortunately, Nicolette, it’s the last day of this medical conference and I have to state my findings to the American Board of Diagnosticians. It’s a big deal.” 

Nicolette smiles. “I know you do, Ethan. Even though I miss you a lot, you have no idea, I just want to say how proud I am of you. You deserve this.” 

Ethan’s voice is soft, gentle and warm like honey as he answers her back, his voice almost a low rumble. “I miss you more, Nic. I wouldn’t be here without your support, so thank you for that.” 

“I’ll always be here for you, Ethan. I always have and I always will.” 

There are a million moments and emotions that weave with the two words that Ethan speaks and Nicolette immediately understands the weight of them. 

“I know.” 

Nicolette knew that Ethan was thinking of the last three years and all the events they’ve been through together. Those words were filled with so _much_ that Nicolette can’t seem to stop her heart from swelling with emotion for the man on the other end of the line. It almost feels like a lifetime. A wonderful, harrowing, fruitful lifetime. It’s silent on both ends of the phone as Nicolette and Ethan bask in the heaviness of the moment before both of them speak at the same time. 

“I suppose I should let you go—” 

“You need to prepare for your conference—” 

They both share a laugh and then sober up, both realising that Ethan’s call was coming to an end but neither one wants to let the other go. Nicolette goes first though as the signs of slumber are evident in her words. “Goodnight, Ethan. I love you.” 

Ethan senses it and speaks gently, almost whispering. “I love you too, Nicolette. Sleep well. I’ll see you soon.” 

“Mmm…” 

Nicolette’s eyes close against her will and the phone pushed up against her ear slips out of her grasp and falls against the quilt, her consciousness drifting into a well-deserved sleep. 

She doesn’t hear the next words that Ethan utters but she’ll be thankful for them when she finds him in her bed the very next day. 

“See you in eight hours, sweetheart.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Any comments or kudos are welcome! 
> 
> Originally posted on Tumblr which you can find the link to in my bio


End file.
